The Turing test, eccentric billionaires, and the singularity, oh my! In this special edition of Shoot the WISB, Rachael takes Shaun and Paul on a journey through Alex Garland’s directorial debut, Ex Machina. We explore the film’s treatment of AI, its themes, its women, and much more!

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Spoiler Alert: the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later. Continue reading →

Alien messages, space debris, and space women, oh my! The Robogoblins descend upon CONvergence to discuss Gravity and Contact. We tackle how each film addresses religion, science, trauma, and female characters, and we explore the optimism of Contact versus the pessimism of Gravity.

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Robot babies, creepy babies, and just babies, oh my! Shaun, Julia, Paul, and Rachael join forces to talk about 1999’s Baby Geniuses, which one critic described as “about as endearing as unanesthetized gum surgery.” You can guess how we all felt about it…

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Space princesses, dog boys, and capitalism, oh my! The crew conspires together to discuss the latest Wachowski film, Jupiter Ascending. We tackle the good and the bad and even have a little fun with impersonations.

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Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Spoiler Alert: the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later.

I didn’t get the chance to read as many books or watch as many films as I would like this year, and so any ruminations on my part about what might or might not constitute the best of the year should be taken with a Dead Sea’s worth of salt.

My impression is that by and large, this has not been a stellar year for horror movies in the theatres. The box office returns tend to confirm that perception, which leads to Scott Mendelson’s gloomy appraisal of the situation here. But what needs to be factored in, regarding horror’s relatively poor showing in terms of numbers, is how few of this year’s films are actually any good. Compounding the problem is the fact that the two recent movies receiving the most glowing acclaim — Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night and Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook — have received criminally minimal distribution. Last I heard, The Babadook, which by all accounts is absolutely terrifying and would be leading my Best-Of list had I been able to see it, has only played in a single theatre in all of Canada. I hope to catch both of these films in 2015, but as I have yet to see them, I can’t say anything else about them in the context of this column other than express my anticipation. And here, have a trailer. Continue reading →